Besapié

Lent is a special time in the city of Valladolid, Spain, where I spent two phenomenal years of my life. As Holy Week approaches, W.A.M. will feature a series of tidbits and stories about the Spanish Holy Week particularly the customs and tradition in Valladolid in the Castilian region in Central Spain and Seville in Southern Spain.

The first entry of the series is the so-called besapié, a ceremony where an image is taken down from its loft or from the place where it is guarded so that the people could come and venerate it.

The Nuestra Señora de las Angustias is also called the Señora of Valladolid. A masterpiece by Juan de Juni, the Señora is venerated in a temple that bears her name, from where the principal procession on Good Friday starts and finishes.

The Cristo Yacente is a masterpiece of the great Gregorio Fernández who heads the list of sculptors of the so-called Valladolid School. This image of the dead Christ is kept in the Monastery of Santa Ana.